by Bob Blink
The Queen was tight-lipped as she considered what Ardra had told her.
“The guests have all successfully departed?” Ardra asked. She knew that Lyes and Crissi had quickly moved everyone at the celebration to Lord Chaten’s estate, far enough away to be safe. Lyes had made a masked Doorway, although given some of what they had seen, it was impossible to be certain the enemy didn’t have some means of following even a masked Doorway. Lyes had explained that his hope had been the abilities with Doorways was limited to what the captive Casters could do, which should have made them safe. Ardra wasn’t as certain. She believed that some of Shym’s abilities were something newly acquired.
Queen Jusay nodded. “Lyes did a commendable job. They were all escorted to their respective homes. Most chose to go to their estates away from Nals. Fortunately there were enough Casters present who could make the portals that it didn’t take forever to accommodate them.”
“What about your family?”
“The children are at my sister’s estate far to the north. My husband and I will stay here in Nals. A Queen shouldn’t run and hide, although there were moments when it seemed like a good idea. We will need to talk of security measures. The Caster Crissi seemed very intent on making sure we were safe, but also making herself known to me. She wanted to stay around when she could have been helping others relocate. Was that something you or Lyes coordinated? You wanted to be able to move me if something changed?”
“No, but you are Queen now. You must be protected at all costs. How would it appear to the kingdom if the new Queen was killed on the very day of her coronation, especially given the recent conflict between the Guild and the Throne? There are those who would wonder.”
“Perhaps, but there was more, I’m certain of it. Who is this Crissi?”
“She is a senior Caster. One of the Guild’s best. She placed higher in the graduation tests than any other Caster in recent history. She is very talented, with a wide range of abilities. Even more important, she was one of those tested who demonstrated the spark of inherent magic. She has been activated by the wizards from the western lands, and has proven very capable with their type of magic. As such, she is one of the more versatile people we have. She is what is known now as a mage.”
“If she is so powerful, why was she providing protection duty rather than fighting off the Baldari attack?”
“Several reasons. She has been well trained in the court protocols, and has several years experience under Carif at the upper levels of the Guild, but has never seen combat. I don’t like sending inexperienced Casters to face a major attack if unnecessary. It is a good way to lose potentially good people. In addition, we were uncertain at the time what might be happening, and having both Crissi and Lyes, who can call upon either form of magic present where Sedfair’s nobility was located seemed prudent. There were a number of combat Casters there as well, but most, like myself, can only call upon the symbolic magic.”
Queen Jusay studied Ardra for a moment. “You speak well of her, but I sense you don’t like her. Why might that be?”
Ardra hesitated, but the Queen had asked. “She is too political for me. I believe she wants my job. She was in line for important things in the older Guild, perhaps one of the Eight for the new leader if not the leader herself, and I’ve been warned by other Guild members that she was a strong supporter of Bonne. Bonne would have made Crissi the head of the Guild had she won your position.”
“There will be no more Specialists,” Queen Jusay stated flatly. “On that I agree with Rosul. The Guild has become accustomed to wielding too much power. They must learn to serve the Crown, not manipulate it.”
Queen Jusay looked at Ardra for a moment.
“So, that’s why she was attentive. You claim she has a lot of useful skills, but no experience against the Baldari. What about the Chulls?”
“None there either, but that hardly matters anymore. The Chulls appear to be a problem that is thankfully behind us. As for the Baldari, if Crissi was willing to follow the suggestions of those who have fought the Baldari, her own personal experience would be less important.”
“You sound almost as if you are presenting her case. Are you concerned for your position? Do you suspect I’m planning on replacing you?”
“Lyes and I have known that our positions were subject to the wishes of the new Queen. We were chosen by Queen Rosul to see to repairing the damage that Carif had done, but like many of the plans Queen Rosul set in motion, she has left the final decisions of how to move forward to you.”
Queen Jusay considered this.
“At the moment we need to consider how to protect Sedfair. I need a plan for how the entire kingdom can be placed on alert, and how you would move people to any location that is attacked. I also want secure locations where our leaders can be moved quickly and safely. As we rebuild the government complex, I would like underground chambers constructed by your Casters. They should be accessible only via Doorway, and then only by those authorized much as Rosul told me the castle had been in the final days. That is something that will take months to prepare, but I’d like thinking on it to begin immediately. It appears we might be at war for some time, assuming that we can survive at all.”
“I will discuss the matter with some of our people,” Ardra said. “Commercial Casters could do the work, but we have people who would be better suited to the task given the protections we want built in.”
“I want to set up a series of meeting with my counterparts across the Wastelands. This problem will be shared with them. They have been attacked as well, and they have abilities we might need. I am especially interested in the powers you suggest this Nycoh has demonstrated. We need to pass the abilities to our people.”
Ardra was about to explain that Nycoh’s unique abilities were not something she had been able to pass, but Queen Jusay continued speaking.
“Do you have any idea where the next attack might take place? We are very vulnerable if these Casters are being given powers we cannot counter.”
“It could be anywhere,” Ardra replied honestly. “If I were to guess, the greatest danger might be in the Three Kingdoms. The past attacks have alternated between the western and eastern lands, and there is something there that appears to interest the Baldari. If this last attack was a probe to test our strength as some believe, they will probably want to attempt the same there.”
As Queen Jusay was considering this, her consort stepped into the room. “It’s time,” he said. The Queen had a meeting with those who were vying to become her advisors.
She stood, but remained focused on Ardra. “I want to meet this evening with both you and Lyes. Maybe he learned something useful by meeting with that Caster from the Outpost, but even if not, we need to have a well thought out defense.”
Ardra stood as well, and bowed toward the new leader. Ardra was reassured that Sedfair appeared to have selected a strong leader. This was the first day, and she wasn’t shirking the harness of the task ahead.
Queen Jusay had walked almost to the door when she stopped and turned back to Ardra. “Don’t worry about Crissi,” she said. “I can see no reason why I would want to replace either you or Lyes. You have done well with the Guild, especially given the many issues that have plagued your short time in charge. You both strike me as very capable. Go ahead, knowing you are secure in your position.” Then she turned and led the way out the door, her consort following a step and a half behind.
Ardra felt a flush of pride, but also wondered if she was really ready for what the Guild and Sedfair was going to be facing.
Chapter 20
The news of the attack the previous evening was still the primary topic of discussion around the campus when they met in the University library after Fen said he could best show what he had learned there. In addition to Ash’urn and Lyes, Fen had asked one of the University Casters, a professor named Meyter to participate in the discussions. Fen explained he had been most helpful in finding what he had been looking for.
Ash’urn smiled at the youthful Caster as Lyes led him into the room where Fen waited with the professor. “I’m anxious to see what you’ve learned,” Ash’urn said. “This whole matter of how to trigger that powerful weapon the Saltique and her followers used has me completely stumped. If you’ve finally found the key, everyone will be grateful. With this most recent attack, its obvious that we need something more powerful than our current abilities provide.”
Uh-oh, Fen thought, growing suddenly nervous. He looked at Ash’urn, who waited expectantly.
“It’s not about that,” he finally said slowly. “I should have explained better. This is about something in your journal.”
“My journal?” Ash’urn asked confused. “But we have been trying to decipher the code to that green energy weapon.”
Fen nodded. “I know, but last time I was at the Outpost I was frustrated and was looking for anyplace there might be new and different symbols that might give us a clue. I remembered the strange artifact you and Rigo found out in the desert, and wanted to see what you had sketched. After staring at the drawings you made for a while, they triggered something I’d seen once before.”
“But nothing related to the weapon,” Ash’urn asked. “I don’t understand.”
Uncertain how best to proceed, Fen pulled some sketching paper toward himself. “Here, look at this.” Effortlessly he sketched from memory a series of symbols Ash’urn had faithfully recorded in his journal when the artifact had first been discovered. Then, next to the string of oddly shaped symbols, he sketched some other symbols. It was immediately obvious to Fen and Ash’urn that the newer, more familiar symbols were formed from sections of the older more complex symbol that had been found on the artifact.
“That’s very curious,” Ash’urn said, now interested. This might not be helpful with the most pressing task before them, but anything that was new or informative interested Ash’urn.
“I don’t recognize these symbols,” Lyes said, pointing to several of the pieces that Fen had formed.
Fen nodded eagerly, pleased that the others were seeing what he had discovered. “That was part of the problem. Even broken up, some aren’t familiar. It is also a question of figuring how to break up the original glyphs. There are usually several ways it might be done, but only in one case does a set of symbols result that we can find meaning for. Professor Meyter has been helping me find some of the more exotic symbols. I knew I’d seen some of them before, but couldn’t recall where.”
“Even if this is true, how will it help us?” Lyes asked.
“It might not,” Fen admitted. “But I wondered if we can deduce the trigger phrase for the older symbols from what we know of these individual newer ones. The older symbols were a composite of the newer ones. Perhaps the phrases are linked in a similar manner.”
“That could be a very ambitious task,” Lyes said doubtfully.
“I don’t think it will be that difficult. Just like the symbols link in only one way, the spoken sounds only feel comfortable a certain way.”
Encouraged by the interest he had generated, Fen rolled out a large scroll that had the complete transcription of Ash’urn’s documentation of the symbols that encircled the base of the distant artifact.
“Here is the complete string, with my reconstruction of the unknown symbols. Note that some of these which we already know can be broken up in a similar manner, and the trigger phrase I would expect from the pieces is nearly identical to the phrase we have come to associate with the older symbol. I think this might be the trigger for the whole sequence.” Fen pointed to a long string of words.
Ash’urn looked at what Fen had accomplished and a grin formed beneath his white beard. “There’s only one way to know and that’s to give it a try. Of course, it may be that not just anyone can activate the device even if you have it right, and there is a high probability that the device no longer works.”
Lyes disagreed. “We have seen any number of ancient devices that still function after thousands of years. That thing looked very rugged to me when you took me out to have a look. I don’t know what it is for, but I’d guess if anything from the old days functions, that it will as well. I have more trouble believing Fen has been able to get the necessary phraseology from his patching together some obscure glyphs.”
“Can we give it a try?” Fen asked eagerly. “Now?”
Ash’urn recalled such eagerness in himself in the past when he’d felt he’d unlocked a great secret. There was no way he could deny young Fen the chance to see if his detective work had been successful. After the briefest of pauses he said, “Why not?”
The foursome walked out into the courtyard where a Doorway could more safely be created. Ash’urn had been there more often than the others, and he took the lead and created the necessary Doorway. From here, it could be done with a single jump. Moments later the four Casters stepped into the desert in the Ruins, in a spot where magic was not blocked. They had briefly discussed alerting others, perhaps Rigo, to come along, but it was highly likely that they wouldn’t meet with success this first time. They agreed it was better to wait until they had something definite to show.
The tall artifact lay in the orange sands on its side, more than half buried as a result of the winter storms that had blown through the area. Ash’urn realized it was sheer chance that he and Rigo had spotted the object as they passed through the region. It had probably been buried and uncovered countless times over the thousands of years it had lain here. Odds suggested they could have more easily walked by without seeing it. If it hadn’t been recently uncovered and if the sun hadn’t been at just the right angle to reflect off it and catch their attention, they never would have known about it.
Lyes used his magic to uncover the object, then created a cleared bowl around the base. When he finished the object lay on its side inclined about thirty degrees to the horizontal, resting on the sand bowl that had been created. The gold sheen was apparent, and three sides of the message written in multiple languages could be seen. Around the base scrolled the symbols of interest.
Professor Meyter laid his hands on the side of the object, placing them in the flat panel half a man height up from the base. “It’s incredible,” he said. He’d never seen the object before. “It looks as if it is new.”
Fen had brought his scroll with the symbols he had sketched. Not surprisingly given the youth’s superb memory and attention to detail, the symbols matched exactly.
“How do we do this?” Lyes asked. “Do we touch the artifact as we trigger the phrase? That plate certainly looks as if it was intended for one to place his hands. Or, do we try and trigger it from a distance?”
“Prudence,” I think,” cautioned Ash’urn. “We have no idea what this thing is intended to do. I don’t think we should be in contact with it when we try and activate it.”
As a group they climbed back out of the bowl and stood a reasonable distance away.
“Who does the honors?” Ash’urn asked.
“Professor Meyter is the most versed in the spelling language,” Lyes suggested. “Perhaps the honor should go to him.”
Looking somewhat uncomfortable, the professor accepted the scroll from Fen, and somewhat haltingly, read the triggering phrase that Fen had created. Expectantly, they watched for some kind of reaction from the artifact. Nothing.
“Try it again,” Ash’urn suggested. Even he had noted the lack of smoothness in the words. This kind of magic was very unforgiving of poorly spoken words.
Once again Caster Meyter attempted the complex trigger, but once again nothing happened.
“I think it is going to be necessary to be in contact with the device,” he said. It was obvious from the way he spoke the idea didn’t appeal to him at all.
“This is not surprising,” Lyes said. “It is very possible that it can’t be triggered by anyone other than the crafter, or that it is broken. There is also a good chance we don’t have the words right.”
“It would make
sense for something like this to be triggerable by a single person,” Ash’urn said. He also had great faith in Fen. “Let Fen attempt it,” he said finally. The words spoken by the professor hadn’t sounded smooth enough even to Ash’urn’s ears.
The others looked at Fen, who smiled back nervously. Professor Meyter handed Fen the scroll, but Fen waved it away. Taking a deep breath, he paused and closed his eyes, then began to utter the phrase he had committed to memory as he’d translated over days of careful work. The words flowed smoothly, as if he had been raised speaking the language.
Even before he had completed the spell, it was obvious something was happening. Fen didn’t notice because his eyes were closed in concentration as he spoke the ancient words. The object seemed to shudder, shaking off the last of the sand that had accumulated in the deep grooves of the symbols on its surface. As Fen completed the trigger, the object began to shine with an inner light, the golden color somehow brighter. The string of symbols wrapped around the base that the words had triggered turned a faint crimson and glowed with a light that started at the beginning and then seemed to wrap around the object. Once the light reached the end of the symbols, it repeated the process.
Now that Fen had completed the spelling, his eyes were open. They grew wide as he observed what he had done. They stepped back as the object shuddered again and began to rise from the sands until it stood vertically in the center of the bowl that Lyes had created. It floated quietly a hands width above the sands, and waited there, a slight humming coming from its interior. Nothing showed how it was being held in place above the sands, but it appeared it intended to stay there.
“By the Gods!” Ash’urn muttered. “You did it, Fen!”
They all watched in wonderment for long moments until Fen asked practically, “But what does it do?”
“That’s the question now, isn’t it?” Ash’urn agreed. He watched as the pillar slowly revolved in place, the four faces slowly coming into view from where he stood. “Is it a warning, or some kind of direction marker? Perhaps it is signaling to someone who has been gone thousands of years.”